Published by University of Chicago Press (29 Nov. 2016)
ISBN-10: 0226041506
ISBN-13: 978-0226041506
Hardback with dustjacket.

From the publisher:

In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll created fantastic worlds that continue to delight and trouble readers of all ages today. Few consider, however, that Carroll conceived his Alice books during the 1860s, a moment of intense intellectual upheaval, as new scientific, linguistic, educational, and mathematical ideas flourished around him and far beyond. Alice in Space reveals the contexts within which the Alice books first lived, bringing back the zest to jokes lost over time and poignancy to hidden references.

Gillian Beer explores Carroll’s work through the speculative gaze of Alice, for whom no authority is unquestioned and everything can speak. Parody and Punch, evolutionary debates, philosophical dialogues, educational works for children, math and logic, manners and rituals, dream theory and childhood studies—all fueled the fireworks. While much has been written about Carroll’s biography and his influence on children’s literature, Beer convincingly shows him at play in the spaces of Victorian cultural and intellectual life, drawing on then-current controversies, reading prodigiously across many fields, and writing on multiple levels to please both children and adults in different ways.

With a welcome combination of learning and lightness, Beer reminds us that Carroll’s books are essentially about curiosity, its risks and pleasures. Along the way, Alice in Space shares Alice’s exceptional ability to spark curiosity in us, too.

Many thanks to Stuart, Andrea and Owen for getting me this one. Available on Amazon.

The company make lots of literary themed goodies with text from well loved classics

Package contains temporary tattoos in 6 designs. Christmas present from Ale and Martin (thanks!), but now I’m in a quandary as to whether use them or save them as part of the collection…

I think I like the Jabberwocky quotation one best, and good to see that they’re all actual quotes from Carroll and not from the Disney films!

Maker’s blurb:

Temporary tattoos to share your favourite literary quotes with the world. Each pack contains 6 unforgettable quips and quotes from memorable characters of beloved classics. They are designed to be realistic, both in terms of their artwork and the way they look once applied. They last 1-3 days, and are easily applied using a wet cloth.

]]>https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/12/27/alices-adventures-in-wonderland-literary-tattoos/feed/0estherasetattoosAlice in Wonderland Through the Visual Artshttps://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/alice-in-wonderland-through-the-visual-arts/
https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/alice-in-wonderland-through-the-visual-arts/#respondTue, 26 Dec 2017 12:30:11 +0000http://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/?p=2074]]>Alice in Wonderland Through the Visual Arts, edited by Gavin Delahunty and Christoph Schulz.

Published to accompany the Tate Liverpool exhibition, 4 November 2011. Soft back.

ISBN 978 1 85437 991 7

From the back cover:

Lewis Carroll’s stories based around the character of Alice have proved to be among the most enduring literary creations of all time. For almost 150 years they have led a double life, on one hand classics of children’s literature and on the other endlessly fascinating source material for artists, writers, filmmakers and creatives of all kinds.

For the first time, this extensively illustrated book examines the visual art that has been inspired by the Alice stories. Beginning with Lewis Carroll’s original sketches and Tenniel’s iconic illustrations it then explores the appearance of the books extraordinary characters in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, printmaking, film animation and video. Essays by Gillian Beer, Alberto Manguel, Christoph Schulz and Edward Wakeling grant fresh insights Carroll’s life and work together with a new fairy tale specially written by Carol Mavor.

]]>https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/12/26/alice-in-wonderland-through-the-visual-arts/feed/0estheraseAliceSnarkhttps://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/snark/
https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/11/07/snark/#respondTue, 07 Nov 2017 08:57:52 +0000http://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/?p=3303]]>Snark: Being a True History of the Expedition That Discovered the Snark & the Jabberwock & its Tragic Aftermath by David Elliot.

Published by Otago University Press (1 Nov. 2016)

ISBN-10: 1877578940
ISBN-13: 978-1877578946

The story of the expedition to find the Snark as told by the Boots. Includes Carroll’s poem, with lots of surrounding text and illustrations. The surviving explorers go on to find the Tulgey Wood and the Wabe, and then the Jabberwock, before facing the terrible possibilty of bringing a Boojum within reach of civilisation… for the Snark was a Boojum, you see.

Publisher blurb:

Gabriel Clutch was a thief and a liar but he was right about one thing. He told me he had a great secret in his collection that would shake the literary world to its roots if it ever got out… So begins the delightfully dark Snark, a tumultous romp through worlds created by Lewis Carroll and here brought to life through the vivid imaginings and fabulous art of award winning author and illustrator David Elliot. What exactly did happen to the Snark expedition? Did his dagger-proof coat protect the Beaver from the Butcher? What befell the Boots in the Tulgey Wood? Who fell foul of the Jabberwock? The Bandersnatch? The Jub-Jub Bird? And, finally, the big question: what precisely is a SNARK? David Elliots hero, the Boots, here reveals the whole truth for the first time, from his recruitment to the Snark expedition, to his return from a journey of unimaginable, death defying adventure … In this charming book for grown-up children of all ages, David Elliot is at his spellbinding and artistic best.

A collection of dream inspired photos and artworks, name-checking and quoting The Gryphon from Alice (No, no! The adventures first,’ said the Gryphon in an impatient tone: `explanations take such a dreadful time.’), but no other real connection.

Includes a DVD ‘Diesel Dreams’.

From the back cover:

As a visual essay focusing on dreams, the imagination, the surreal and the divine, Wonderland builds on the success of last year’s Romantik. The book is a stunning collection of the very latest inspiring and surprising fashion photography, graphic design, illustration and fine art from around the world.

Publishers’ blurb:

Wonderland is a compilation of the very latest inspiring and surprising graphic design, illustration, photography and fine art from around the world. Focusing on dreams, the imagination, the surreal and the divine, it builds on themes introduced in our well-received title Romantik.

While Romantik revolves around longing, Wonderland depicts dramatic occurrences and experiences. The fantastical work featured in the book is presented as a visual essay of captivating intensity.

The Diesel Dreams promotional DVD was included in the first edition release of Wonderland.

Thirty different of the best filmmakers were called on to produce a two-minute short film based on imagery from Diesel’s Fall/Winter 2004 communication campaign. The Diesel Dreams promotional DVD was included in the first edition release of the book Wonderland, a visual essay focusing on dreams, the imagination, the surreal and divine.

]]>https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/wonderland-2/feed/0estherasewonderlAlice and the Space Telescopehttps://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/alice-and-the-space-telescope/
https://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/2017/09/16/alice-and-the-space-telescope/#respondSat, 16 Sep 2017 07:28:53 +0000http://aliceintheinternet.wordpress.com/?p=110]]>Alice and the Space Telescope by Malcolm Longair, with forward by Nobel Prizewinner Riccardo Giacconi. Published by The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989.

4to hardcover with dustjacket. First edition.

ISBN: 0-8018-2831-7

The book explains and discusses some of the things going on in astrophysics from the time of the launch of the Hubble telescope, and yet still manages to be funny at the same time.

It makes me think of The Big Bang Theory. I wonder what Sheldon would make of it?

There’s also a rewrite of Jabberwocky, which is always good value… even if the scansion is a little off…

Twas brillig and the slithy toves/Brought plans of telescopes fair to see./ The Jabberwock, he clapped his hands/And said, ‘That’s just for me.

Loads of pictures- some of Tenniel’s, various graphs and scientific diagrams, and photos.

To print copies of ‘Theresa Maybe’s Adventures in Brexitland’ an illustrated work of political satire, to send out to backers and to MPs.

…the writer managed to raise £2,076 in 42 days, and published the book shortly after.

Production description:

This beautifully illustrated book been successfully crowdfunded by Remain campaigners and sent to MPs. A satirical parody of Alice in Wonderland that paints the nonsense of Brexit Britain in all its shades of absurdity. On 23rd June Theresa Maybe was bored of lying on her bench on the Commons and looking at dull immigration policy documents without any pictures in! So she decided to let Dave the pet rabbit out of his hutch and followed him down the Brexit hole into Brexitland. They play an absurd game with no rules called the EU Referendum and Theresa Maybe wins “the Brexit” which she carries around Brexitland trying to work out what it is. She encounters all sorts of bizarre characters, including; The Corbynpillar, Tweedle Boris and Tweedle Johnson, The Hallamshire Cat, Dumpty Trumpty, Farage the Mad Hatter and the Nutty March Hare. Will she be able to decide, once and for all, what the Brexit actually is? And will she find anyone who is talking any sense? There is only one way to find out….

Interesting to compare this one with Alice in Brexitland: many of the politician/character choices are the same: Corbyn as Caterpillar, Cameron as White Rabbit, Boris as either one or both of the Tweedle twins, Trumpty Dumpty- but Farage is here the Hatter rather than the Cheshire Twat, instead we find the Hallamshire cat sporting a fetching yellow tie…

Lucien Young is an actor and writer, known for Fried and Murder in Successville. On this book, he has said:

“It’s been a delight getting the chance to balance the absurdity of modern British politics with the relative sanity of Lewis Carroll. I’m excited for people to read the book and, if its release should happen to bring down the government, this will all have been worthwhile.”

From the publisher’s blurb:

Lying on a riverbank on a lazy summer’s afternoon – 23rd June 2016, to be precise – Alice spots a flustered-looking white rabbit called Dave calling for a referendum. Following him down a rabbit-hole, she emerges into a strange new land, where up is down, black is white, experts are fools and fools are experts…

She meets such characters as the Corbynpillar, who sits on a toadstool smoking his hookah and being no help to anyone; Humpty Trumpty, perched on a wall he wants the Mexicans to pay for; the Cheshire Twat, who likes to disappear leaving only his grin, a pint, and the smell of scotch eggs remaining; and the terrifying Queen of Heartlessness, who’ll take off your head if you dare question her plan for Brexit. Will Alice ever be able to find anyone who speaks sense?

Political parody, with transformed Carrolian characters such as Dave the Camerarabbit, Farage- the ‘inanely grinning Cheshire Twat’, the Corbynpillar, Theresa May- the ‘Queen of Heartlessness’, Boris and Michael as “Tweedleboz and Tweedlegove” (‘one has a deranged mop of blond hair; the other looked like a duck who had just won a prize’) and Trumpty Dumpty. Alice just can’t decide if she agrees with the views expressed in the Daily Murdoch or The Gordian…

“Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”Lewis Carroll’s masterpiece Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and its equally famous sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, are among the most quoted works in literature. In What Would Alice Do?, a handy, pocket-sized volume, are the pithiest quotations from the White Rabbit, the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts and, of course, the irrepressible Alice, every one of them pertinent today . . . and guaranteed to put a Cheshire grin on your face! What Would Alice Do? offers advice for any unreasonable, demanding and downright confusing situation, from one of the most iconic female characters in literary history. Forthright, polite, and always true to herself, Alice will help you navigate life as she did Wonderland – just ask yourself, what would Alice do?

Sir John Tenniel’s original engravings have defined our image of Alice ever since the story was first published in 1865. Reproduced to the highest quality, the iconic images in this book will delight both fans and those discovering them for the first time.

Featuring a foreword by Lauren Laverne, a gorgeous foiled cover and Tenniel’s famous black line illustrations, this beautiful little book of Alice quotes makes a wonderful gift for any fan of Alice in Wonderland.